Set Sail

Scripture constantly amazes me.

No matter how many times I read or hear an account from the Bible, I still pick up on things that I had not picked up on before.

This is true even of the most familiar accounts. Even those I first learned as a child.

One that fits this category is the account of Noah and the ark.

One of the earliest picture books I was given as a child was about Noah and the ark

My mother related the account of Noah and the ark to me many times while I was still too young to read.

I even had a toy ark to play with complete with a tiny Noah and little pairs of animals.

Recently, I found myself thinking about this portion of scripture.

My thoughts were not centered on Noah and his family.

I found myself thinking about the rest of humanity.

I thought about those outside the ark who were not spared the global devastation.

It stands to reason that some saw the gigantic ark under construction as Noah built it to the exact specifications as revealed to him by God.

There must have been talk about Noah.

I imagine that  many must have thought that Noah had taken leave of his senses.

Yet Noah continued to build.

Once the ark had been completed, Noah gathered the animals specified by God that would  repopulate the earth.

I imagine that by this time more than a few became concerned.

Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives entered the ark along with all the animals.

Then, then the rain began to fall.

By this time, I imagine that even more became concerned.

The rains continued to fall and the waters began to rise.

At this point, I imagine that almost everyone outside the ark was concerned.

As the waters continued to rise with no sign of letting up, concern must surely have turned to panic.

As their panic increased, I imagine that many began to plead frantically.

I wondered what impact this might have had on Noah and his family.

About the time I pondered this, I attended a devotional presented by my very good friend Randy.

As I listened to him read this account from scripture, I picked up on something I had never truly never picked up on before.

Genesis 7:16 (NET) - Those that entered were  male and female, just as God commanded him. Then the LORD shut him in.

That last sentence shed new light on my thoughts.

"Then the LORD shut him in."

Noah did not seal himself in.

Noah and his family were sealed off from the world outside by none other than the Lord Himself.

Even if Noah had heard their cries and taken pity on them, there would have been absolutely nothing he could do for them.

This bears a remarkable parallel to the Christian walk and outreach of today.

Ephesians 1:13 (NET) - And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation) - when you believed in Christ - you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit.

This seal is a mark ownership.

Those that have heard the truth and accepted Christ as their savior have this mark of ownership.

They have been set apart just as those aboard the ark were set apart by the Lord.

The crucial difference is that we have been commissioned to share the Good News with others.

Some will listen and they too will be set apart.

Others, perhaps like those that may have watched Noah build the ark, will conclude that we have taken leave of our senses.

But, as long as they draw breath there is hope.

That is why we must continue to reach out to them.

It must have taken Noah and his sons a long time to build the ark.

They faithfully continued to build until the ark was finished.

In the same way, we must continue our outreach throughout our lifetime until our work is finished.

With help from the Trinity, we can help others get on board and so that they too may be set apart.

One day, the door that leads salvation will be forever sealed.

As each day passes, we should experience a new and heightened sense of urgency.

As each day passes, there is one less day for us to reach out.

As each day passes, there is one less day for others to respond to His call.

Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com

Few things get bigger

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much...” (Luke 16:10, NIV)
Are we faithful in the little things that life faces us with? Or are we always waiting for that big opportunity to stand up for Jesus and bring others to salvation?
Well, what we very often tend to forget is that before God can use us greatly to be a blessing to many, we have to prove ourselves by being faithful in little things; things which are part of our everyday life and which may seem quite insignificant to us in the larger scheme of things. In Luke 19:11-7 Jesus tells his disciples the parable of the 10 servants who were given 1 mina each and asked to do business with it. In that parable we read, ‘Well done, good servant, because you were faithful in very little, have authority over 10 cities’ (Luke 19:17). In Luke 16:10 Jesus says another parable where he says ‘He who is faithful in what is least, is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least, is unjust also in much.’
Now, what does it mean to be faithful in little things? Do we realize that we are, each day of our lives, living through that test? Perhaps it is because we have not passed that yet that God cannot fully use us the way He would have liked or planned. Will we miss the perfect will of God in our lives, just because we were not faithful in the little things?
Here are some of the little things that all of us face in our lives.
1.Not being ashamed to let our friends know that we do believe (and follow) Christ, even if that may mean some temporary ridiculing. (Matt 10:32-33, Luke 12:8-9 – Whoever confesses me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God, but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God). This is one of the most difficult challenges I have faced. There are times in the past when I have not wanted to disclose the fact that I believe strongly in Jesus (for fear of being ridiculed by some unbelievers). I may not have denied Jesus, but I conveniently made sure that I did not put myself in a situation where my faith would be exposed.
2.Being faithful with all matters of money and belongings that don’t belong to us.
3.Not gossiping or talking in a derogatory manner about others behind their backs. Many times, even if we ourselves may not say much, when our friends do so, we may just stand around, laughing and enjoying with them. Is that because we don’t want to be seen as being ‘different’ from them? (Ref Ephesians 4:29, Titus 3:1)

4. Problems of ego, pride, selfish ambition, ‘Me first, others later’ attitude, anger and frustration when others take the credit that is due to us (at work perhaps).
5. Lying in matters small or big (another huge challenge many of us keep facing). (Colossians 3:9 – Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with his deeds)
6. Corrupt practices, cheating etc, which are considered okay and sometimes even as ‘smart’ by the world. Many times we may find ourselves going with the flow for fear of standing up for what we believe in and would end up doing something that is not right. Sometimes when people suggest to us corrupt or wrong ways of doing things, instead of telling them that our conscience would not permit us to do that, we may just keep quiet or nod our heads in agreement, although we may not actually follow their advice. This again is because we don’t want to be seen as ‘different’.
7.Being stingy or greedy for money or some other possessions.
Can people see a difference in the way we behave in our daily activities? If they don’t see a difference, that’s either because we are as much a part of this world system as they are or because we are too ashamed to let the world know that we aren’t. How then can we be called followers of Christ?
In Matthew 12:33 Jesus says that a tree is known by its fruit. Putting up a board reading ‘mango tree’ in front of a banana tree is not going to make it any less identifiable as a banana tree. Going to church every Sunday and going to prayer meetings is not what identifies us as Christians. It’s the way we live our everyday life that does. (Refer Galatians 5:16-26 for a concise instruction on Christian living)
In scripture, the prophet Elisha told a man named Naaman to go wash in the Jordan River and he would be cured of his leprosy. Naaman was the Captain of an army, a very influential man. He didn’t want to go wash in the dirty Jordan River. His attitude was, “That’s absurd. That’s little. That’s insignificant. That’s not going to make any difference.” His assistant said, “Naaman, if he would have asked you to do something hard, something big, you would do it. Why don’t you do this small thing?” Naaman finally went and washed in the Jordan, and he was totally healed.

I wonder how many of us would see our breakthrough, our healing, our promotion, or a dream come to pass if we would just do the small thing that God is asking us to do. People think, “Oh, it doesn’t really matter. I’ll do it one day.” But realize today, those little things mean a lot. They are keeping you from the fullness of your destiny. It may be something small, but your act of obedience will cause God to release the big thing that He has in store.
It means obey, believe and live in integrity... God bless

His Finest Hour

Psalm 23:4 (KJV) - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.

In the line of pastors that have served my church, I have had the great privilege in knowing three of them in my lifetime.

Each was unique.

Each had his own personality.

Each had his own style of oratory.

Yet, all three were men of God who utilized the gifts God gave them when they answered His call to the ministry.

My thoughts lately have been of the second pastor I knew.

He was the pastor who taught my confirmation class.

His son was also a member of that class and I consider the friendship I maintain with him to be one of the finest blessings God has ever bestowed upon me.

My reflections, however, revolve around the memories made about fifteen years ago.

My mother had to spend several days in the hospital as she underwent a battery of tests.

Whenever she was having them done, I would usually go to the lobby to get some coffee from one of the vending machines.

Each day, I looked over the registry posted in the lobby to see if anyone I knew happened to be admitted as a patient.

On one such day, I learned that the second pastor that I knew had just been admitted.

He had been retired for a number of years at this point in time.

Later, when my mother had returned to her room, we discussed her latest procedures and those that were still scheduled.

Afterward, I informed her that the pastor we both knew was in the hospital as well.

The following day, when her testing resumed, I walked over to the pastor’s room and saw that he was awake.

I knocked on the door frame and asked if he felt like having some company.

He invited me in.

I told him why my mother was there and that I happened to notice that he was a patient.

He didn’t speak about his condition but was genuinely concerned about Mother.

I assured him that her condition was not threatening.

I informed him that her doctor felt it would be better for her to be in the hospital until all the tests had been run and a plan for treatment had been established.

He agreed that this was a wise decision and said that he would pray for us both.

I thanked him.

We made general small talk but he did not go into any details as to why he was there.

A short time later, I could tell he was feeling fatigued.

I excused myself and told him I would drop by later.

I headed to the lobby for my usual coffee when I saw my friend, the pastor’s son, walk in.

We shook hands.

I told him why my mother was there and that I had just left his father’s room after a brief visit.

He told me that the news regarding his father was not good and that it was very probable that he did not have much time left.

I was stunned.

Before I could say anything, my friend added that his father was at peace with his situation.

We then parted company and he went on to his father’s room.

As I sat alone with my coffee, I prayed.

I wondered how I would break this news to my mother.

I decided that it would be best to wait until her testing was complete before I told her.

When I returned, I found her back in her room and she told me about the tests they had just run.

Her final tests were scheduled the next day and, in all likelihood, she would be kept one additional night before being released.

Throughout that day, my thoughts alternated between her and the pastor.

Later that day, I asked her if she would mind if I went to visit with him for a few minutes.

She told me to go as she was feeling better.

As I walked down the hallway to his room I had no idea what this visit was going to be like.

I arrived and saw him sitting on the edge of his bed reading his Bible.

I watched in silence as his finger underlined each sentence as he read.

He had a marvelously peaceful look on his face.

It was obvious that he was drawing strength from scripture.

This was a moment between the pastor and God that I simply could not interrupt.

When I got back to my mother’s room she remarked that I had not been gone very long.

I simply told her that this was not a particularly good time for a visit.

As I think back to those days and that moment in particular, I realize something very important.

That was one of the finest sermons my pastor preached!


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com